Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Good morning everyone, and welcome back to work after what we hope was a great Christmas! Here is your Daily Briefing.

Tougher teenager driving are going into effect in Pennsylvania. In Upper Saucon Township, supervisors adopted their 2012 budget that calls for no tax increases. In national news, some good news when it comes to post-Christmas shopping: online shopping traffic on Christmas day increased 16.4%, while mall traffic on the day after Christmas also increased.

No surprise here, but it's been a slow news day, and that's it for now. Have a good one, and we'll see you later!

Monday, December 19, 2011

If you are a Chamber member, you are probably familiar with our online business directory that lists every member. One of the nicer features of our website is you can change and update your business information anytime you want, something that is obviously important for a variety of reasons, including Search Engine Optimization. In the video below, I conducted a screen-cast that walks you through how to log-in and update your information.

As always, This Week With Tony is sponsored by our friends at M&T Bank.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

We've made a couple of previous blog entries, outlining the new State House & Senate districts in Lehigh & Northampton counties. However, as has been made public recently, the Congressional redistricting maps have been released - and it brings terrible news for the Valley.

We will no longer be represented by one Congressman, but instead two: Charlie Dent and Tim Holden. Easton, parts of Bethlehem and more than 20 Northampton municipalities are no longer in the 15th Congressional District. The plan itself was approved by the State Senate yesterday by a 26-24 vote.

The Chamber opposes this plan. From Michelle Griffin-Young, our Executive VP of Government & External Affairs:

"Our 5,000 members --employing 140,000 individuals-- are committed to the Lehigh Valley as a unified constituency. The Chamber’s regionalization efforts have proven successful to our members time and time again. Breaking up the Valley with two different Congressmen will be a detriment to the continuation of our region’s growth and prosperity. We urge the House & Senate to work together as the Lehigh Valley delegation to replace Easton and the large portion of central and northeastern Northampton County back into the 15th District to keep our Valley strong!"

The legislation must still be approved by the House and signed into law by the Governor. We urge our members - and every Lehigh Valley resident - to contact their Representative and tell them to oppose this plan.

We covered the Lehigh County redistricting on Tuesday - now, here's a look at how redistricting will affect the Valley in Northampton County, at least on a state-wide level:

Allen: In the House, 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 14th Senate District (John Yudichak).

Bangor: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Bath: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Bethlehem City: In the House, split between 133rd Legislative District (Joeseph Brennan) who has portions of the Southside) and 135th Legislative District (Steve Samuelson) who has portions of the entire city. In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Bethlehem Township: In the House, split between 135th Legislative District (Steve Samuelson), who has Ward 2 and part of Ward 3, and 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn), who has the remainder.

Bushkill: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Chapman: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

East Allen: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 14th Senate District (John Yudichak).

East Bangor: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Easton: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Forks: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Freemansburg: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Glendon: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Hanover: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 14th Senate District (John Yudichak).

Hellertown: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Lehigh: In the House, 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 14th Senate District (John Yudichak).

Lower Mt. Bethel: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Lower Nazareth: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn).

Lower Saucon: In the House, split between the 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman) and 131st Legislative District (Justin Simmons). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Moore: In the House, split between 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn) and 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Nazareth: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

North Catasauqua: In the House, 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola)

Northampton: In the House, 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Palmer: In the House, split between the 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman) and 137th Legislative District (Joe Emrick). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Pen Argyl: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn).

Plainfield: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Portland: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick).

Roseto: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick).

Stockertown: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Tatamy: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Upper Mt. Bethel: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Upper Nazareth: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Walnutport: In the House, 183rd Legislative District (Julie Harhart). In the Senate, 14th Senate District (John Yudichak).

Washington: In the House, 137th Legislative District (Joseph Emrick). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

West Easton: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Williams: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 24th Senate District (Bob Mensch).

Wilson: In the House, 136th Legislative District (Bob Freeman). In the Senate, 16th Senate District (Lisa Boscola).

Wind Gap: In the House, 138th Legislative District (Marcia Hahn). In the Senate, 45th Senate District (Jim Brewster).

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

As an article from John Micek of the Morning Call noted earlier today, redistricting is making its impact felt in the Valley. Assuming the current map holds, below is a quick guide to who will represent the various municipalities in the Valley. Today we'll run Lehigh County:

Alburtis: In the House, 134th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Doug Reichley. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Allentown: In the House, split between 132nd Legislative District (currently held by Representative Mann) for parts of the Center City, the entire West End and most of the East Side and the new 22nd Legislative District (currently vacant), containing the entire South Side and most of Center City. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Bethlehem: In the House, split between the 133rd Legislative District currently held by Joseph Brennan (10th, 12th and portions of the 13th Ward) and 135th Legislative District currently held by Representative Steve Samuelson (11th and portions of the 13th ward). In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Catasauqua: In the House, 133rd Legislative District, currently held by Representative Joseph Brennan. In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Coopersburg: In the House, 131st Legislative District, currently held by Representative Justin Simmons. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Coplay: In the House, 133rd Legislative District, currently held by Representative Joseph Brennan. In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Emmaus: In the House, 131st Legislative District, currently held by Representative Justin Simmons. In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Fountain Hill: In the House, 133rd Legislative District, currently held by Representative Joseph Brennan. In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Hanover: In the House, 133rd Legislative District, currently held by Representative Joseph Brennan. In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Heidelberg: In the House, 187th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Gary Day. In the Senate, 14th Senate District, currently held by John Yudichak.Lower Macungie: In the House, 134th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Doug Reichley. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Lower Milford: In the House, 131st Legislative District, currently held by Representative Justin Simmons. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Lowhill: In the House, 187th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Gary Day. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Lynn: In the House, 187th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Gary Day. In the Senate, 14th Senate District, currently held by John Yudichak.Macungie: In the House, 134th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Doug Reichley. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. North Whitehall: In the House, split between 183rd Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart (4th Ward) and 187th Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart (Wards 1, 2 and 3). In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Salisbury: In the House, split between 131st Legislative District currently held by Representative Justin Simmons (3rd Ward and 4-1), 133rd Legislative District held by Representative Joseph Brennan (1st and 2nd Ward) and 134th Legislative District held by Doug Reichley (4-2 and 5th Ward). In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.Slatington: In the House, 183rd Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart. In the Senate, 14th Senate District, currently held by John Yudichak.South Whitehall: In the House, split between the 132nd Legislative District held by Jennifer Mann (Wards 2, 4, 5 and 7), 134th Legislative District held by Doug Reichley (Ward 3) and 183rd Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart (Wards 1, 6 and 8). In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Upper Macungie: In the House, 187th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Gary Day. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Upper Milford: In the House, 131st Legislative District, currently held by Representative Justin Simmons. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Upper Saucon: In the House, 131st Legislative District, currently held by Representative Justin Simmons. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Washington: In the House, 183rd Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart. In the Senate, 14th Senate District, currently held by John Yudichak.Weisenberg: In the House, 187th Legislative District, currently held by Representative Gary Day. In the Senate, 16th Senate District, currently held by Senator Pat Browne. Whitehall: Split between the 133rd Legislative District, currently held by Representative Joseph Brennan (all of Whitehall except the 7th and 10th Wards) and 183rd Legislative District currently held by Representative Julie Harhart (7th and 10th Wards). In the Senate, 18th Legislative District, currently held by Senator Lisa Boscola.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

We wanted to let you know about the public policy position that The Chamber is taking - this one on the need to reform state's prevailing wage laws.

A Prevailing Wage is the rate at which public employees must be paid when state funding is involved in a project. The goal of a prevailing wage is to ensure that workers on public projects receive a fair wage for their work. This prevailing wage must be tied closely to the wage paid in a competitive market for labor whether the work is performed for either public or private project owners. A mechanism needs to be exercised to set prevailing wages which more closely represent the actual wage rates for both public and private projects across the different regions of the state as well as the fluctuations in the labor market.

The Chamber signed onto the following letter that was sent to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives:

On behalf of our thousands of statewide member businesses of all sizes and crossing all industry

sectors, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry writes to express support for bills to reform the PA Prevailing Wage Act that the House may consider this week.

The PA Prevailing Wage Act (the Act) mandates that workers on public construction projects costing over $25,000 be paid the local “prevailing minimum wage”. The problem is the set wage is typically tied to union wages and therefore often grossly inflated, which burdens the Commonwealth and local governments with higher costs and triggers increases to property taxes while providing no real public benefit. Local governments and school districts are operating under increasingly restrictive budgets and the prevailing wage mandate is one more obstacle impeding efforts to balance budgets and improve communities through vital construction projects and infrastructure improvements.

The PA Chamber supports abolishing the Act. Short of full repeal, we support bills that aim to help mitigate the adverse impact of this archaic and harmful mandate:

HB 1271: Exempts certain road maintenance, which until a recent court decision, had usually fallen under the Act’s exemption for maintenance work. This court decision has forced municipalities to curtail regular roadwork, such as resurfacing, replacing guide rails and painting lines, when they cannot afford the inflated wages that result from the prevailing wage mandate;

HB 1685: Directs the PA Department of Labor and Industry to adopt classifications and definitions for jobs subject to the Act. No such standard guidance currently exists, which creates uncertainty for contractors who face potentially devastating penalties for even accidental violations;

HB 1329: Raises the threshold for a project to be subject to the Act to $185,000; up from the current threshold of $25,000 that was established nearly 50 years ago.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

If you are a Chamber member, you receive Connections. Connections is our 48-page monthly publication. We print about 6,000 copies that are sent throughout the entire Lehigh Valley, and it is one of the Valley's premiere sources of information for the latest business happenings in the area. If used properly, it is also an outstanding way in which Chamber members can expand their business network. Here are some thoughts on how you can specifically use Connections to do just that.

1. Member News: Every month, we print news items that we are given by our members (this is totally free, and if you want to submit news, please send it along to me at mikes@lehighvalleychamber.org). Make sure to check out the news items and drop the printed businesses a note, saying congrats.

2. New Members: New Members, and their contact information, are listed in Connections every month. If you have a second, make sure to drop a note to the new members, saying welcome and describing your services. Don't just sell, but use the new member section as a chance to build a relationship.

3. Event attendance: Connections always contains a flier that lists the latest events you can attend and RSVP. On a budget? No problem - in this month's Connections, eight of the events are totally free!

4. Advertise: You can get the word out about your business by advertising in Connections for as little as $75 per month. Make sure to check out our rates.

Monday, December 5, 2011

I was chatting with a friend the other day about how awesome Facebook is (yes, I realize how corny that sounds, and yes, I actually have these conversations in real life) when he mentioned his dilemma to me. He had just started a business page on Facebook and was happy to finally get around to it...but, he wasn't sure how to promote it to the masses. After all, what good is a business page if you cannot get anyone to actually like it?

Fair point. How do you get someone to discover your Facebook page? Here are five easy ways:

1) Your Website: If you have Social Media, you need to link to it on your website. Fortunately, there are plenty of different ways to do so: something as simple as a hyperlink that leads to your Facebook page, a logo that says "Find me on Facebook" or a Facebook widget that shows viewers a snapshot of your page.

2) Google: Google loves Social Media. Need proof? Type in "Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce" in Google, and four of the top ten results are links to Social Media. How do you make your Facebook profile Google friendly? Fill out every field - including address, description (make sure to laden it with words that are SEO-friendly to your business), phone number, the works. From there, update constantly. Google loves fresh, interesting content.

3) Your business card: Check out the back of Chamber business card:

On the back of all of our business cards, we have links to our Social Media. We also have a QR code that leads to our webpage, but that's a whole other blog survey.

Yup - we link to our Social Media in every E-mail that we send. And why not? Think about how many E-mails you send a day. This is an easy one!

5) A big old E-mail blast: Like most businesses, you probably have a collection of E-mails or some sort of e-Newsletter. Make sure to E-mail the entire list and let them know where to find you. From there, make sure to include links to your Social Media presence in every E-mail.

6) Your own network: If you are the administrator of a page, you can "suggest" that others like your page from your personal profile. Some people aren't comfortable with bridging their personal & professional lives like this, and that makes sense, but this is a pretty easy way to instantly get likes.

In Bethlehem, the city has told members of Occupy Bethlehem that it has to get a permit for the city site on which they have been camping. Members of the Southern Lehigh School District held a memorial service for their recently deceased former superintendent, Joseph Liberati.